QuickStats Search

Each of the sections below is expandable. Select once to expand the section and display the hidden content. Select again to collapse the section and hide the content. To access the hidden content within each section, select the section to display the content, then use arrow keys to navigate down to the expanded content.

In the 2016 Census, there were 4,823,991 people in Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas). Of these 49.3% were male and 50.7% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.5% of the population.

The median age of people in Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas) was 36 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 18.7% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.9% of the population.

In Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), 31.7% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 25.6% were in primary school, 19.9% in secondary school and 25.3% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Of people aged 15 and over in Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), 17.3% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 12.1% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 9.3% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

People — cultural & language diversity

Respondents had the option of reporting up to two ancestries on their Census form, and this is captured by the Ancestry Multi Response (ANCP) variable used in this table. Therefore, the total responses count will not equal the persons count for this area. Calculated percentages represent a proportion of all responses from people in Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas) (including those who did not state an ancestry).

People — employment

EmploymentPeople who reported being in the labour force, aged 15 years and over

Greater Sydney

%

New South Wales

%

Australia

%

Worked full-time

1,480,218

61.2

2,134,521

59.2

6,623,065

57.7

Worked part-time

682,605

28.2

1,071,151

29.7

3,491,503

30.4

Away from work

109,892

4.5

174,654

4.8

569,276

5.0

Unemployed

146,187

6.0

225,546

6.3

787,452

6.9

There were 2,418,902 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas). Of these 61.2% were employed full time, 28.2% were employed part-time and 6.0% were unemployed.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

Provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability (last two weeks)

435,993

11.1

709,415

11.6

2,145,203

11.3

Did voluntary work through an organisation or group (last 12 months)

653,910

16.7

1,103,790

18.1

3,620,726

19.0

In Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), of people aged 15 years and over, 67.0% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 27.3% provided care for children and 11.1% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 16.7% of people did voluntary work through an organisation or a group.

Of people who did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census in Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), 24.6% worked 5 to 14 hours, 10.4% worked 15 to 29 hours and 8.1% worked 30 hours or more.

Labour force status not stated (by one or both parents in a couple family)

56,642

5.5

90,630

5.7

311,381

6.2

In Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), of couple families with children, 24.6% had both partners employed full-time, 3.7% had both employed part-time and 20.2% had one employed full-time and the other part-time.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

In Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), of occupied private dwellings 7.3% had 1 bedroom, 24.8% had 2 bedrooms and 33.8% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 3. The average household size was 2.8 people.

Households with rent payments greater than or equal to 30% of household income

--

14.2

--

12.9

--

11.5

The number of households where rent payments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure are expressed in this table as a proportion of the total number of households in an area (including those households which were not renting, and excluding the small proportion of visitor-only and other non-classifiable households). The nature of the income imputation means that the reported proportion may significantly overstate the true proportion.

Households where mortgage repayments are less than 30% of household income

--

91.6

--

92.6

--

92.8

Households with mortgage repayments greater than or equal to 30% of household income

--

8.4

--

7.4

--

7.2

The number of households where mortgage repayments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure are expressed in this table as a proportion of the total number of households in an area (including those households which were renting, and excluding the small proportion of visitor only and other non-classifiable households). The nature of the income imputation means that the reported proportion may significantly overstate the true proportion.

In Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), 37.1% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 32.8% had two registered motor vehicles and 15.7% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

In Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), 85.6% of households had at least one person access the internet from the dwelling. This could have been through a desktop/laptop computer, mobile or smart phone, tablet, music or video player, gaming console, smart TV or any other device.

There has been change in methodology used to calculate the average number of persons per bedroom. To compare the time series for average number of persons per bedroom please refer to Understanding the Census and Census Data

In Greater Sydney (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3.2 persons, with 1 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $1,488.

Small random adjustments have been made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from the table totals. For further information, go to the User Guide for QuickStats.

Data reported for Australia and Other Territories now includes Norfolk Island, following an amendment to the Acts Interpretation Act, 1901. Because Norfolk Island has not previously been included in the Census, any 2011 benchmarks will not include Norfolk Island.

The information contained in this QuickStat has been produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics | It contains data from the 2016 Census of Population & Housing held on 9 August 2016 | Release date of this QuickStat was 23 October 2017 | Some values may have been adjusted to avoid release of confidential data | These adjustments may have a significant impact on the calculated percentages in QuickStats | For more information refer to Introduced Random Error in the 2016 Census Dictionary. For further enquiries contact the ABS National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 | www.abs.gov.au/census